Welcome to the Mad in America podcast, a new weekly discussion that searches for the truth about psychiatric prescription drugs and mental health care worldwide.

This podcast is part of Mad in America’s mission to serve as a catalyst for rethinking psychiatric care. We believe that the current drug-based paradigm of care has failed our society and that scientific research, as well as the lived experience of those who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, calls for profound change.

On the podcast over the coming weeks, we will have interviews with experts and those with lived experience of the psychiatric system.

Thank you for joining us as we discuss the many issues around rethinking psychiatric care around the world.

This week we have a very special
guest for you, it has been my honour to be able to interview Dr.
Peter Breggin.

Dr. Breggin is a Harvard-trained
psychiatrist and former Consultant at the National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH). He has been called “The Conscience of
Psychiatry” for his many decades of successful efforts to reform
the mental health field.

His work provides the foundation
for modern criticism of psychiatric diagnoses and drugs, and leads
the way in promoting more caring and effective therapies. His
research and educational projects have brought about major changes
in the FDA-approved Full Prescribing Information or labels for
dozens of antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs. He continues to
educate the public and professions about the tragic psychiatric
drugging of America’s children.

As a medical-legal expert, Dr.
Breggin has unprecedented and unique knowledge about how the
pharmaceutical industry too often commits fraud in researching and
marketing psychiatric drugs. He has testified many times in
malpractice, product liability and criminal cases, often in
relation to adverse drug effects and more occasionally electroshock
and psychosurgery. A list of his trial testimony since 1985 is
contained in the last section of his Resume on Dr. Breggin's
website.

Dr. Breggin has taught at many
universities and has a private practice of psychiatry in Ithaca,
New York.

For a career as long and
distinguished as Dr. Breggin’s we have decided to devote two
episodes to hearing him speak. This first part covered Dr.
Breggin's career, his views on psychiatry and psychiatric drugs and
also recent developments with the trial involving Michelle
Carter.

Part 2 of the interview focuses
more on recent events surrounding the trial and alternatives to
psychiatric drugs.

In this episode, we
discuss:

That Bristol County Juvenile
Court Judge Lawrence Moniz sentenced Michelle Carter to a
two-and-a-half-year term, with 15 months in jail and the balance
suspended plus a period of supervised probation.

How Judge Moniz granted a defense
motion to stay the sentence, meaning she will remain free pending
her appeals in Massachusetts.

That if Michelle lost all of her
appeals in 2-3 years time, Michelle may be facing custodial
time.

That Dr. Breggin reviewed
thousands of text messages between Michelle and her friends and
between Michelle and Conrad Roy, but that one particular part of a
text exchange formed the central plank of the case against
Michelle.

That Dr. Breggin is keen to show,
through the Michelle Carter blogs, what is happening to our
children when they become involved with psychiatry and psychiatric
drugs

That Dr. Breggin appreciates the
suffering of the family of Conrad Roy because he kept hidden how
bad his mental health difficulties were

How Dr. Breggin also appreciates
how Michele had been tormented and attacked by the press during the
trial

How the authorities went to
extremes to exclude the role that psychiatric drugs may have played
in the events surrounding Michelle and Conrad

That Dr. Breggin has observed
that many that he has helped that have been wounded by psychiatry,
have shied away from becoming reformers themselves

How, when working with clients,
Dr. Breggin makes sure he takes the time to ensure that potential
clients know who he is and how his approach differs to mainstream
psychiatry

That Dr. Breggin feels that the
hostility towards those who question the use of psychiatric drugs
has reduced over the last 10 to 20 years

How Dr. Breggin feels that the
psychiatric drugging of our children is tantamount to organised
child abuse because the child cannot make a judgement for
themselves

That many children end up taking
the drugs to please their parents

That the drug that Michelle
Carter was taking (Celexa/Citalopram) was not approved by the FDA
for treating children

That Dr. Breggin’s view is that
emotional or psychological difficulties often are precipitated by
childhood trauma

That people often then react to
the current world as if it were the world that they found traumatic
and difficult as a child

That good therapy has much in
common with coaching in sport or certain aspects of religion or
good teaching

That all psychoactive substances,
including psychiatric drugs, have a general effect on the brain and
often this intoxication affects a persons ability to relate
emotionally to family and friends

How helping people with their
mental health comes down to loving, caring, relationship, coaching
and guidance

That these principles have much
in common with good religion or philosophy

About the Podcast

Welcome to the Mad in America podcast, a new weekly discussion that searches for the truth about psychiatric prescription drugs and mental health care worldwide.
This podcast is part of Mad in America’s mission to serve as a catalyst for rethinking psychiatric care and mental health. We believe that the current drug-based paradigm of care has failed our society and that scientific research, as well as the lived experience of those who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, calls for profound change.
On the podcast over the coming weeks, we will have interviews with experts and those with lived experience of the psychiatric system. Thank you for joining us as we discuss the many issues around rethinking mental health around the world.
For more information visit madinamerica.com
To contact us email podcasts@madinamerica.com